THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE DIVERSITY ON DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF KOGI STATE

Résumé

Language plays a key role in the development of every state. The way and manner in which speakers of another language regard speakers of other languages could impede development. Language loyalty and refusal to accept and tolerate languages other than one’s own language has continued to cause inter-ethnic crisis and other language related problems which retard development. This paper is hinged on Social Identity Theory. In the methodology, questionnaire method was adopted for collection of data. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed to respondents around Kogi state and the data collected was analysed using a simple frequency table. In the findings, it was observed that a language difference is a major cause of underdevelopment in Kogi state. The paper recommends that language tolerance and acceptance should be encouraged in the interest of the state.